


A Sweet Time

by hatae



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Bullying, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Light Angst, Lin Yanjun is bad at feelings, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Discovery, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves, like seriously the friendship is so important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:19:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15629631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatae/pseuds/hatae
Summary: Yanjun had expected a lot of things when he'd heard the news of a werewolf joining. He'd expected a large, rather hairy guy with a scar covering his face from where a fellow werewolf had once gashed him. He’d already mentally prepared himself to corner him after school with a couple of his buddies and tell him he should think twice about causing a ruckus.He hadn't expected a small boy with chubby cheeks to enter, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as the teacher introduced him as You Zhangjing, the werewolf.-or the one in which vampire!yanjun falls for werewolf!zhangjing and has a bit of a freak out along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i told you i liked zhangjun.
> 
> this is unbeta'd, oops.

Yanjun stared at the newcomer. That was supposed to be the werewolf everyone had been gushing about? And here he'd thought he'd have to put up an act to show him who's boss. They were an almost all exclusive vampire school, though there were some human and halfers as well. It was the first time in...well, ever that a werewolf entered their school. It was the third year that the school allowed other beings in. No one had dared to, though. Knowing that the school was in fact filled with vampires. And other races usually weren’t too keen on them. The guy was Malaysian, though, so his parent had probably not known it when they'd entered him.

 

 

Yanjun had expected a lot of things when he'd heard the news of a werewolf joining. He'd expected a large, rather hairy guy with probably like a scar covering his face from where a fellow werewolf had once gashed. He’d already mentally prepared himself to corner him after school with a couple of his buddies and tell him he should think twice about causing a ruckus.

He hadn't expected a small boy with chubby cheeks to enter, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as the teacher introduced him as You Zhangjing, the werewolf.

"There's an empty place in the back", the teacher smiled kindly, she was human. "Next to the Lin Yanjun. The guy with the blonde hair."

 

Yanjun quickly tried to look disinterested as the werewolf looked over to him, before bowing to his teacher and hastily walking over to the seat next to Yanjun's.

 

As he did so his scent entered Yanjun's nostrils. It was unlike anything he'd ever smelled before. True, he’d never smelled a werewolf before, as there were hardly any left in China and Taiwan. And if there were, they usually wouldn’t come to the small village on the country side, which was where Yanjun had spent most of his life. He’d expected them to smell faintly like coppery blood, a tinge of dog masked by the sickeningly sweet smell of whatever cheap cologne or perfume they might’ve been wearing.

 

 

He hated when people put on perfume or cologne, as did about every other vampire in the world. It hurt his sensitive nose and made him feel lightheaded. This werewolf also made him feel lightheaded, but not because of something he was wearing, it was because he smelled really fucking good.

 

Incredibly good, even. He didn't smell like dog. though there was still the slightest hint of coppery blood, it seemed overshadowed by something more sweet. Almost like freshly baked cookies. Yanjun didn't know how to describe it. He subconsciously leaned a bit towards him.

 

 

Zhangjing turned to him, eyes big and questioning. Yanjun abruptly leaned away again, glaring to the front of the class and cursing himself. So what if the guy happened to smell good, it really didn't matter. He was still gonna talk some sense into him later.

 

He sat stiffly next to Zhangjing the entire lesson, trying the take shallow breaths (though all he wanted to do was take gulps to get as much of Zhangjing's sweet smell in as possible).

 

 

When the teacher announced the break he turned to the werewolf, who was already looking at him.

 

"Are you okay? You don’t look too well", he said quietly, a small frown on his face. His Mandarin was really good. He must’ve already lived in China before.

 

"Worry about yourself", he said, trying to sound as though he didn’t give a shit about what Zhangjing smelled like.

Zhangjing put up his hands. "Woah there, no need to snap. I was just worried. Sorry for assuming."

 

 

Yanjun suddenly felt a little guilty for his reaction. All his motivation for giving him a warning was gone at this point.

Zhangjing huffed when Yanjun stayed quiet and looked away with a small, whispered "sheesh” that Yan would’ve undoubtedly not heard if he hadn't had superior hearing.

 

"No, wait", he said. Zhangjing turned back around. "I...didn't mean it like that. I just...I thought you were going to be different?"

 

"Different how?", the werewolf asked with raised eyebrows.

 

"Y'know, more like the werewolves in the movies", he muttered. For a second Zhangjing’s face fell, but then a small, understanding smile replaced it.

 

"Right, you don't really get a lot of werewolves around here, do you?"

 

"More like none, to be honest", Yanjun laughed easily.

 

"Yeah, I noticed. It smells pretty dead in here", Zhangjing said, with a small wiggle of his nose. Yanjun stared at him for a second, before bursting into loud laughter.

 

"Yeah well, at least now there's some wet dog mixed in there as well", he joked. Zhangjing put his hand on his chest and let out a fake, scandalized gasp.

 

"Where did this sudden verbal attack come from?", he asked.

 

 

It was at that exact moment that Xukun and Xiao Gui chose to enter the conversation.

 

"Is he trying to be cool again? Don’t worry about him, honestly. Once you get to know him he's...well, I wouldn't say he's kind, but he's like at least 80 percent less cool", Xiao Gui, that fucker, told Zhangjing.

 

Yanjun turned to glare at the human, who gave him cheeky smile in return. "It’s like you forget I could literally snap your neck at any given time."

 

Zhangjing let out a shocked gasp. Yanjun turned to see him looking at him with big eyes.

 

"They're always like that, it's their way of showing affection", Xukun said before Yanjun could. Zhangjing turned to his friend, eyes widening even more (if that was even humanly possible), before quickly averting them.

Yanjun guessed he understood. Xukun was a creature of extreme beauty. The other boy often said that it was in his genes, Yanjun said it was because he was half vela. ("Dude, you have literally seen my parents. They're both vampires", Xukun would always say. Yanjun didn’t buy it, though.)

 

 

"I'd like to see you try, I’m pretty sure they'll lock you up for that", Xiao Gui said dryly.

 

"You underestimate me, I've already got an entire escape plan. I'll move to Finland, where I will then take on the name Hans and live out the rest of my life, smiling to myself because I was finally able to get rid of the most annoying little shit in the universe without anyone ever suspecting good ol' Hans", Yanjun said with a small grin.

 

Xukun sniggered as Xiao Gui pretended to grab his heart with a pained expression. A high giggle told Yanjun that Zhangjing also found him funny.

 

 

As he met the other boy's twinkling eyes and saw the amusement in them he decided that Zhangjing was gonna be joining their friend group whether he liked it or not.

And join them he did. He sat with them at lunch and during breaks and they even walked home together. Well, mostly with Yanjun. They practically lived next to each other, Yanjun found out with glee when they walked together the first time. (“We should totally have a sleepover once”, he beamed and Zhangjing returned the gesture with the same enthusiasm when he agreed.)  
After a couple of weeks it was as if Zhangjing had always been there. He was in on most of their inside jokes at that point and Yanjun was 100 percent he’d cry and lock himself up in his sock drawer for days if he had to leave. The thought of Zhangjing’s smile not brightening up his day was almost painful.

 

To some extent he guessed he was probably a little too trusting of Zhangjing.

 

 

"Yo werewolfy."

 

Yanjun stopped dead in his tracks from where he was returning from the restroom. That taunting voice couldn’t belong to anyone but Shuijiao. The bully that had also used to have a go at Xiao Gui before they'd become friends. It couldn’t be directed at anyone but Zhangjing either.

 

"What do you want now?", Zhangjing asked, clearly trying to sound as if he didn't care, but Zhangjing heard the underlying tenseness, heard the small skip of his heart. The way it got when he was afraid or nervous. Same as with humans.  
Yanjun felt a subconscious wave of excitement run through him and was disgusted with himself immediately. It was a feeling most of them still felt whenever a living being showed signs of fear. Like a predator with its pret. Yanjun knew for a fact that it was because his kind had used to hunt humans and other beings. They'd once enjoyed the thrill of it. They didn’t do that anymore, though. Hadn’t for thousands of years, but Yanjun knew there were still vampires out there that would like to go back to their primitive ways. He knew for a fact that Shuijiao and his little friends were among them.

 

"Aww, are you scared, little pup?", he heard him taunt. His blood began to boil as Zhangjing’s heart began to beat even more erratically. It made his blood flow faster, making his sweet scent all the most intense and it took all Yanjun had to try and not sniff the air like some sort of fucking freak. It was that what made him stay out of sight, he didn’t think he could trust himself to stand too close to Zhangjing right now.

 

"I'm warning you for the last time, leave me alone", Zhangjing snapped. The bully laughed loudly.

 

 

"Or what? You're gonna ask your little friends to take care of it?", he asked and his friends joined his taunting laughter. Zhangjing was quiet for a while. Yanjun did his best to calm down in the meantime. Zhangjing needed him to help him, not be a fucking coward and stand just around the corner without doing anything.

 

"You're pathetic, you know that? Preying on those who are weaker than you", Zhangjing snarled eventually. His heart was till beating fast, but Yanjun knew now that it was more because of anger now than because of fear.

 

 

By the time Shuijiao spoke again he didn’t sound amused anymore. "I thought you were supposed to be just as strong as us, dog. Guess I was wrong. I bet you can't even fucking-"

 

Zhangjing let out a hiss of pain and Yanjun finally decided that it had been enough. He abruptly rounded the corner and tired not to show how much Zhangjing’s scent affected him as it hit him twice as hard. Instead he grinned languidly, strolling over to them.

 

 

Zhangjing looked at him with pain clear in his eyes as Shuijiao bend his arm in a crude way. As Yanjun got closer he quickly let go of the smaller boy, who stumbled back a little. Yanjun put an arm around Zhangjing’s shoulder, deciding it was better not to breathe for a while.

 

"What's up, my dudes? No trouble here, I'd hope?", Yanjun asked.

 

 

Shuijiao looked away and shook his head.

 

"Let's get outta here", he mumbled to his two goons, who quickly followed him out of the corridor. He stared after them, honestly wishing looks could kill. Zhangjing looked up at him and gave him an awkward smile, unlike his usual beams, his heartbeat already slowing down. Yanjun's smile dropped though.

 

"How long have they been bothering you?", he asked Zhangjing stiffly. Letting go of him and quickly taking some steps back to at least put some distance between them. He was starting to feel lightheaded.

 

"Since the first day I got here. But I’ve been-"

 

 

"And you didn’t think of telling us?", he snarled, abruptly putting a hand in front of his nose. Zhangjing fell silent and stared at him, confusion and hurt swimming in his eyes as he obviously tried to look for some sort of reason for Yanjun’s sudden change of demeanor.

"Zhangjing, those guys are bad news. Like really, really bad news. You should’ve come to us", he continued, less harsh this time. He took his hand away again when he came to the concmusion that it didn’t help much anyway.

 

"Well, excuse me for assuming I didn't need you guys to protect me at all times", Zhangjing said snidely, but Yanjun could still see the first traces of hurt forming in his eyes.

 

"No, no. You don't understand. They're literal monsters. They once almost killed Xiao Gui once. We've been protecting him ever since", Yanjun said quickly.

Zhangjing's expression changed to one of horror as he asked in a small voice: "What do you mean, they almost killed him once?"

 

 

"Last year they just snapped one day. They were picking on him like usual, but he fought back. Shuijiao hadn’t fed in a while. I guess it all got too much. He was on Xiao Gui and sucking him dry before he even had the chance to do anything. If we didn’t arrive when we did", Yanjun shuddered at the memory. "I don’t know what would've happened."

 

Zhangjing looked rather pale as his heart rate picked up again. "How...how was I supposed to-?"

 

 

"No, you couldn’t have known. Of course you couldn’t have. But Zhangjing, know how to pick your battles, man.", Yanjun said stiffly. Zhangjing looked at his feet, shuffling uncomfortably. "Know when to ask for help."

 

It made Yanjun feel bad for lashing bout, but he needed Zhangjing to know. Also, he needed to get away from Zhangjing right now before doing something he regretted. Not that he'd ever hurt Zhangjing, but he could literally feel himself aching to bury his face in Zhangjing's throat and he knew that would mostly probably not be appreciated. So he quickly made up some bullshit excuse and fled the scene, ignoring the confused look on Zhangjing’s face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i still can't get over how nice ppl in this fandom are, like seriously... thank you for the kind feedback.

Every time they came across Shuijiao and his gang Yanjun made sure to send them small threatening grins. He’d informed Xukun as well, so the other vampire joined him in his lowkey intimitading gestures. Each time he saw Shuijiao bitterly avert his gaze, reminded of the time Yanjun and Xukun had beaten him into the ground when he'd almost murdered their human friend.

 

For some reason he was just quite protective over the werewolf. Which in itself wasn’t a weird thing. He was just by nature a protective person. Of his friends (mainly Xiao Gui because he was just way more fragile) and family mostly.

But with Zhangjing it was different. The thing that made it weird was just his constant want to be close to him, to smell his sweet and comforting scent. It made him feel fucking creepy. As if he was some sort of count Dracula.

When one day he found himself spacing out and centimeters removed from Zhangjing’s neck, only to be interrupted by Xukun asking him what the hell he was doing, he finally turned to a reliable source for answers later than evening.

 

He opened google and typed in:

_'I'm a vampire and my friends smells really good?'_

 

All he found were some bullshit articles for humans to get vampires to notice the with their perfume. Which was frankly bullshit, for as long as he lived perfume had always made him sniffle in disdain.

 

He rolled his eyes and opened up a new tab.

 

_'I'm a vampire and my werewolf friend smells really good?? Help?'_

 

The articles he found on that topic were even less helpful. Just informative articles about the biology of the two species. Upon reading one of them he found himself actually quite uncomfortable.

 

_'...more often than not the smell an adult werewolf produces is quite rough on a vampire's senses. The same can be said for the werewolves. Their sensitive noses are also able to pick up a vaguely uncomfortable scent from he before mentioned species. It is believed that this is so thanks to the boisterous and violent past the two share-"_

 

Yanjun stopped skimming over the article and put down his phone. He groaned loudly. Oh, so great news. Not only was Yanjun a freak of nature for actually liking the scent of a werewolf, now he also knew he probably smelled pretty gross to Zhangjing. Fucking neat. He probably hadn’t been kidding when he said it smelled dead in their school.

Well, he probably jump too much into conclusions. Perhaps the article was exaggerating. Maybe it used to be like that a gazillion years ago, like when his mother was still young.

 

 

He abruptly sat up and called Xukun. His best friend didn't answer for an uncomfortable long time and Yanjun was just contemplating on also trying to video chat him (so he'd feel uncomfortable about ignoring him) when he finally answered.

 

"What do you want, Yanjun?", his annoyed voice answered.

"Oh hey, Xukun. So...you're a vampire, right?", Yanjun asked, realizing that he probably should’ve practiced this before calling his friend. He wasn't exactly a subtle person.

 

"Oh my god", Xukun, oblivious to Yanjun's inner struggle, gasped. "Could it be? Have you finally let go of the foolish thought that I’m a veila and accepted that I am, in fact, 100 percent a vampire? Never thought I’d see the day."

Xukun sniffled exaggeratedly.

"Yeah yeah", Yanjun grumbled. He still didn’t believe Xukun was 100 percent vampire, but he needed answers, so he thought it best to not say that right then.

 

"So to answer your question”, Xukun said. “Yes, I am, in fact, a vampire.”

 

"Alright, so…I've been doing some research on vampires and werewolves and -", Yanjun started quickly, as to not give Xukun the opportunity to ask why, but Xukun, that bastard still managed to come between him.

"Why the hell are you doing that?"

 

Yanjun stopped awkwardly, practically feeling Xukun's judging eyes on hum.

"I don’t know. I just...wants to know. It's interesting. History and stuff-", History was Yanjun's most hated subject and he expressed that fact each time they were about to have it. He could practically feel Xukun's faith in him oozing away. He panicked slightly. "Wait, why am I justifying myself to you? I don't have to do that! Screw you, Cai Xukun. I'm not explaining myself to you!"

 

He cursed himself. At this point he was just digging himself deep into a hole.   
Definitely should've practiced this conversation.

 

"O...kay. You don’t have to if you don't want to. I was just curious, sheesh", Xukun said after a while, clearly regretting ever taking Yanjun's call. "So where are you going with this?"

 

"Okay, so...I found out that apparently we have this really bloody and violent history, right? I mean, there's a reason there’s hardly any werewolves left in China." Xukun let out a small hum. "Alright. So apparently there’s still some after effects. Namely in our sense of smell, an article said that the smell of werewolves is supposed to be a huge turn-off for us. So, I mean, this is gonna sound weird…but do you think Zhangjing smells...bad?"

 

Xukun's silence was anything but comforting. Yanjun wished he could just take all of that back, put the words right back in his mouth, never to be spoken again. If he were to have a blood flow he was certain he'd be beet red by now.

 

"Hmm, I wouldn't really define it as…bad, necessarily. But the word turn-off about sums it up. He smells kind of like...danger" Whenever he was around Zhangjing and breathing in his scent he felt safer than ever. "Being around him makes my fight or flight response kind of kick in. Especially in the beginning. Right now I've gotten so used to him I barely even notice it anymore. Besides that I feel like he just smells like a human. Only when, and don't tell him I told you this, but when it rains, he very faintly smells of wet dog."

 

Yanjun recalled the day Zhangjing had shown up to school soaking wet, looking more like a drowned cat than anything else, dorkily laughing at himself for forgetting his umbrella. His enticing smell had almost been too much to handle and Yanjun had spent the entire first period in the washroom, waiting for Zhangjing to dry a little.

 

"Don't you think so?"

Panic rose up in Yanjun's throat. This had proven it, he was officially a freak of nature. Glad they’d cleared that up.

 

"Oh yeah, ugh. It's the worst", he lied, hearing the exaggeration in his own voice. He panicked even more. "Yuk. Makes me want to just... just...y'know, ask him to put on some deodorant.”

"You don’t really think that, do you?", Xukun said more than asked.

 

Yanjun knew better than to lie to a Xukun that already knew everything.  
"No, I do not think that at al. He literally smells like angel dust and moonshine, what the fuck is wrong with me?", he whimpered.

 

"Pretty sure angel dust doesn't have a scent", Xukun said, because of course he would.

"Agree to disagree", Yanjun said, he'd once gotten a whiff of a foreign fairy’s dust and he'd been sure he's smelled freshly baked cookies and a hint of chamomile. His favorite scent, even before he’d gotten to know Zhangjing. "But what the hell am I supposed to do, Xukun? I'm a freak. If people find out about the fact that I like a werewolf's scent I'm...they'll lock me up in an asylum."

Maybe he should reconsider that plan about going to Norway.

 

“Don’t be so ridiculous, Yanjun. There's plenty of vampire-werewolf couples abroad. You think they're together, just because they're sadist and like the obvious signs of danger each time they get a whiff of each other? No, it's probably got something to do with their compatibility that makes it so that they smell okay to each other. Maybe even good", Xukun said patiently.

Yanjun calmed down a bit at that. Yeah, Xukun was right. He was totally right. There was no way he was the only one. Couldn’t be. In Hollywood alone there were tens of crossbreed couples.

 

It was fine. Guess him and Zhangjing were just really compatible.

...What?

 

"You think me and Zhangjing are compatible?", Yanjun croaked.

 

"Yeah, aren’t you in love with him?", Xukun asked confusedly.

Oh. Yeah, that made sense. That would explain the scent and the absurdly protective urges. Also, the way he got happy whenever Zhangjing smiled. If he'd had a bearing heart he was sure it would skip a beat whenever he did, as well. Everything fell into place

 

"Yes, I am", he said faintly.

 

"Don't tell me you didn’t know?", he heard his friend ask disbelievingly.

 

"Affirmative", he said hoarsely.

 

"Oh my god, you're so dumb."

 

For once Yanjun couldn't find it in himself to vehemently defend himself, because all things considered, he really was really dumb. 

* * *

 

 

Okay, so Yanjun had a project to finish in two days and he was in love with Zhangjing. Those were the facts. That's what kept going through his head as his father drove him to school that morning for the first time in a while. After ensuring his dad he really was fine ("Are you sure? You're awfully quiet.") he made his way into the building. 

As soon as he walked into class and his eyes fell on Zhangjing he almost wished he could just hightail it out of there. How had this happened? How had the werewolf managed to make him fall in love with him over the span of less than two months? And how the hell had Yanjun not noticed? Even with all the fake flirting he did it hadn't once crossed his mind. 

His jumbled thoughts abruptly cut off when Zhangjing spotted him and smiled. Yanjun instinctively smiled back and watched how Zhangjing turned back to the girl he was talking to, admiring his side profile. 

 

Right, that was how.

 

"You're blocking the doorway?", a gruff voice interrupted his thoughts. Yanjun looked down to find Xiao Gui trying to squirm his way past him. He's barely even noticed the human's kitten like attempts at pushing him aside

 

"Alright then, you little runt. I'm gone", he said amusedly, moving away quickly. Xiao Gui almost lost his balance upon the sudden lack of resistance but managed to save himself. Yanjun heard his heartbeat go up a bit in embarrassment.

"Motherfucking asshole", he muttered and Yanjun chuckled.

"Aww, I love you too, you big baby."

 

Xiao Gui rolled his eyes and before walking over to his seat and dramatically slumping down in it.

"You okay?", Zhangjing, who was done with his conversation, asked worriedly. Zhangjing was like an angel, Yanjun would’ve swooned if he wasn’t so busy rolling his eye at Xiao Gui. He sank down in his own seat.

 

"Ask mister asshole over there", Xiao Gui said, not bothering to look up.

Zhangjing immediately looked over at Yanjun.

 

"Why do you assume it's me?", he asked offendedly. He ignored Xiao Gui's snort and kept his gaze on the werewolf.

 

"Because Xukun isn't here yet", Zhangjing said and okay yeah, that was fair. He voiced that thought, satisfaction running through him when Zhangjing threw his head back and laughed.

 

"Zhangjing, you're supposed to be the nice guy here. Defend me", Xiao Gui whined. The smaller boy quickly sobered and looked at Yanjun seriously.

 

"My good sir, I would appreciate it if you stopped being an asshole to my human friend over here. He's quite fragile, you see", Zhangjing said and it took all Yanjun had not to burst into loud fits of laughter at seeing the look on Xiao Gui's face.

"Oh my god, I don't know why I thought I could rely on you. You're way too biased towards Yanjun", Xiao Gui said snidely. Yanjun looked at Zhangjing, whose ears turned red at once. Hope welled up inside of him. Could it be that Zhangjing liked him more than the rest? Maybe he could build on that? They caught each other's gaze.

"I am not biased towards Yanjun. I care about you all equally", Zhangjing protested quickly and Yanjun deflated. Guess not, huh?

 

"Wow, is it opposite day today?", Xukun asked as he joined them.

 

"I know, right? Zhangjing, it's so obvious you like Yanjun more than us. You literally walk to school and back with him almost every day", Xiao Gui said, smiling now that he had something on Zhangjing.

 

"That doesn’t mean anything. We just live close together, it would be stupid to not walk together", Zhangjing said matter of factly.

 

"Well, then how about the fact that you pay for his blood bag every other day without asking anything in return?", Xukun joined Xiao Gui in his little game. Yanjun's small flicker of amusement disappeared. Xiao Gui didn’t know about Yanjun's feelings. Xukun, however, very much did. The look Xukun send his way at that moment didn’t exactly sit right with him either.

 

"That...I mean. Have you seen him if he doesn’t feed? He becomes super grumpy and distant!", Zhangjing protested. In truth, Yanjun just didn't trust himself around Zhangjing if he hadn’t fed in a while. It was almost unbearable to be near the werewolf. He'd almost gotten used to Zhangjing paying for him at this point. It honestly made him feel kind of like an asshole. He was gonna pay him back for that sometime soon. He was about to voice that thought when Xukun spoke up again.

 

"How about the fact that you let him copy your homework each time he forgets to make it? Or how about that time you borrowed him your lucky sweater when he got blood all over his during lunch? Or when he forgot his gym shoes and you gave him yours, so you had to go bare foor? Why would you so all those things then?"

 

Zhangjing gaped at their tall friend, his heart had beat sped up noticeably during his little tirade and judging by the grin on Xukun’s face he'd also noticed.

"Be...because...I..."

Yanjun was torn between wanting to hear Zhangjing’s answer and helping him. The decision was made quickly when Zhangjing looked at him with big puppy eyes, practically begging for help. Damn his protective urges.

 

"Wow Xukun, I had no idea you were capable of saying so much at a time. Your mysterious bad boy ruse is completely ruined now", he taunted. Immediately the topic was dropped when Xukun started protesting loudly, almost completely overwhelmed by Xiao Gui's screechy laughter. Yanjun was just glad to hear Zhangjing’s heart beat return to its regular tempo and see the relaxed smile return to his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, don't you just love slow burn?


	3. Chapter 3

"Why'd you do that?"

 

"Hmm?", Yanjun looked up from his blood bag. He'd once again forgotten his lunch money and Zhangjing, who was currently in the restroom, had bought it for him.

 

"Before class? Why’d you change the subject? We were about to get something out of Zhangjing?", Xukun said. Yanjun's eyes widened and he looked at Xiao Gui, who was currently still very much still at the table and was looking at him with his permanent bitch face.

 

"If you think I haven’t noticed your massive boner for Zhangjing then you're even more stupid than you look", he informed Yanjun. He sighed defeated. Of fucking course Xiao Gui knew as well.

 

"Anything else I should know?", he asked gloomily.

 

"Not right now", his human firiend said with a small grin.

 

"But seriously, Yanjun, why change the subject? I thought you might want to know how Zhangjing feels about you?", Xukun said, still looking puzzled. It was a weird look on him. He usually looked as if he had it all figured out.

 

"Um, well. You were wrong. I don’t want to hear him say he actually doesn’t give a shit about me, strangely enough", Yanjun said sourly. That's what he'd come to conclude in the couple hours that had passed. Why else would he have not wanted to answer. He'd probably wanted a change of topic just to spare Yanjun’s feelings.

 

"That's obviously not what he was about to say, Yanjun. He really cares about you as well", Xiao Gui said with a small frown on his face.

 

"As much as one can care about a smelly vampire, I guess", Yanjun pouted.

 

"Oh my god, Yanjun. We've been over this!", Xukun snapped, meanwhile Xiao Gui just looked confused. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

 

"He's read somewhere that vampires and werewolves don’t like each other's scent", Xukun said with an eye roll and Xiao Gui immediately joined him. “Oh my god.” Annoyance boiled up in his stomach.

"What makes you think I even want you guys involved? These are my feelings we're talking about here. Maye you should stay out of it", he snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt bad. Especially when he saw the shocked and borderline hurt looks on his best friends' faces.

 

"Snappy much...", Xiao Gui muttered quietly, clearly trying not to show his hurt as he poked around his food. Xukun's eyes snapped over to him and when he looked back at Yanjun he looked positively pissed. He always got like that when Xiao Gui was involved. They'd known each other for long time, longer than Yanjun. Xiao Gui's near death experience had left a number on him. Yanjun shrank back a bit, ready for a verbal attack. Granted, one that he 100 percent deserved this time.

 

"If you don’t want our help, then fine. Just tell us normally. There’s no fucking need to be such a dick about it, Lin Yanjun", he snarled. Xiao Gui's heart rate shot up as he flinched back. Raised voices tended to make him nervous. It made Yanjun feel ten times as bad. All the annoyance was now out of his system.

"I know. I'm sorry. Really. I didn’t mean to be so rude. I know you're just trying to help. I've just been a bit on edge.", he turned to Xiao Gui and gently put a comforting hand on his arm. "Are you okay, Linkai?"

Xiao Gui look up at him and gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, Yanjun. I'm completely fine."

 

Then he stiffened completely as his eyes fixed on something behind Yanjun. He turned around to find Shuijiao passing by. He glared when their eyes met, the other boy quickly averted his. He turned back around to see Xiao Gui's hands visibly tremble as he put them around his cup of water.

Xukun and Yanjun exchanged a short glance. Xiao Gui was close to having a panic attack. It didn't happen often. Hardly ever, in fact. Xiao Gui's PTSD was rooted deep and could only ever be resurfaced when there was an overstimulation if too many stimuli. Like at that moment.

 

"Linkai", Xukun said, using that quiet en gently voice he only ever used with Xiao Gui as he grabbed his hand. "Let's go get some air. Just you and me."

 

Xiao Gui nodded slowly and let Xukun pull him out of the cafeteria. Yanjun stared after them, feeling shittier than ever, knowing that a big reason for this happening right now was his stupid snapping.

"Where did Xukun and Xiao Gui go?"

 

He looked up to see his favorite pair of brown eyes looking back at him. For a second happiness ran through him, but then the question at hand reached his ears. He deflated back in his seat.

 

"Off to get some air", he told Zhangjing quietly. A frown appeared on his face.

 

"I've got a feeling that's not all there is to it", he said carefully as he attempted to catch Yanjun’s gaze. The vampire shrugged.

"Yanjun, you know you can talk to me, right?", Zhangjing said. "You don’t have to, but I'm always here if you need me to be."

 

Somehow that's what did it. Yanjun cracked and told him the gist of what had happened (minus the conversation that had led him to snap in the first place obviously).

 

"God, that Shuijiao is really such an asshole. I can't believe they're still letting him attend this school", Zhangjing snapped angrily.

 

"Yeah well, his dad's friends with the principal", Yanjun said. "there’s a reason Xukun and I were the ones who were almost expelled for beating him up while he walked away with barely a warning, after all."

 

Zhangjing looked angrier than he’d ever seen him and for the first time he even remotely looked like his actual species. There was something wolvish about him when he was snarling like that. Something even his chubby cheeks and puppy eyes couldn’t hide. It made Yanjun a little uncomfortable, it wasn’t like Zhangjing.

 

“Oh, so you save a life and almost get expelled and he's almost gone and murdered someone and he's fine. I can’t believe this", he said, hands clenched tightly into fists. Yanjun shrugged.

 

"It is the way it is. Can't really so anything about it except stay out of that fucked up asshole's way", he said before grinning. "One good thing is that he's been scared of us ever since we beat him up, so he doesn't dare come close to us anymore."

 

"Yeah wow, hooray. Except that he's still doing it to other people", Zhangjing said uncharacteristically moody.

 

Yanjun's grin dissapeard and he nodded. "Yeah. I wish we could do something about it. But me and Xukun are already threading on some mighty thin ice here. We can’t afford to get into more trouble."

 

Zhangjing's scowl dropped off his face and he immediately looked like his normal puppy-like self again. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I don't want you guys to go and play the hero and risk getting expelled, obviously. I'm sorry if I made it seem like that."

 

Yanjun smiled softly and ruffled his hair, giddily taking in how Zhangjing leaned into his hand. "Of course I know you didn’t mean it like that, Zhangjing. No worries."

 

Relief seemed to wash over Zhangjing's features and as Yanjun took his hand away he accidentally brushed it against his cheek. He was absolutely certain he didn’t imagined the way his heart skipped a beat at the touch. The smaller boy quickly looked away and pretended to be very engrossed with his food, leaving Yanjun to stare at his side profile.

 

"For what it's worth, I think you're very brave", the werewolf muttered and Yanjun grinned so wide his cheeks hurt.

 

* * *

 

They grew even closer the next couple of weeks. Zhangjing would often join him to his house to make homework together. Or just to simply to hang out. Depended on the day. Things were going well between them, very well. Yanjun’s parents loved Zhangjing and he learned to always feed in time (with his own money now) and deal with Zhangjing’s intoxicating scent. At this point he was almost 100 percent certain Zhangjing didn't think he smelled anymore. Otherwise he wouldn't want to be around him the entire day, right?

 

He should've known that Shuijiao was going to screw it all up. It hadn’t even stated with any of their involvement. He was just being an asshole to some poor fucker when they happened to pass in the hallway.

 

"-you thinking, Zhu? You can’t honestly be dumb enough to think you would stand a chance with someone of our superior race?", he taunted a poor human kid Yanjun didn't know for all to hear. Yanjun grit his teeth and was about to keep walking, but instead was stopped when Zhangjing froze. Xukun and Xiao Gui also halted and stared at Zhangjing. The werewolf's gaze was set on the scene enfolding before him.

 

"Like seriously, what even made you think Fan Chengcheng of all people might want someone of your lowly sort back? Let alone you?", he taunted. The kid winced, held in place by the bully’s iron grip on his arm, clearly aware of all the people looking. Yanjun wanted nothing more than to walk up to him and punch him right in his smug face, especially now that his goons weren’t around, but he couldn't. He had to think about his future here. About his family, who was counting o him to actually get somewhere in life.

 

"Please stop", the human boy said quietly, voice barely audible.

 

"Zhangjing, come on. We should go", Yanjun said after a look at his other friends. Xiao Gui was looking really pale and Xukun looked about ready to murder someone. He was about to tell them to go on ahead when Shuijiao spoke again.

 

"No honestly, I think it's about to time you realize what you are to him. You’re just a blood bag. You're fucking food. That's all you humans are! A fucking treat", he snarled. "And okay, maybe you’re a treat he can conveniently also fuck, but a treat all the same.”

Before Yanjun could comprehend what was happening Zhangjing was gone from his watchful gaze and next to Shuijiao. The bully barely even had time to look at him before he was punched in the face, hard. With strength that was clearly above a human’s. Everyone fell silent as Shuijiao let go of the human and grabbed his cheek. Only Zhangjing's ragged breathing and erratic heartbeat could be heard.

 

"You're...the most despicable", Zhangjing was silent for a while, as if searching for words. It was at that exact moment that Yanjun finally realized what had just happened, dread overwhelming all his senses. A quick look at Xukun and Xia Gui told him they were on the same page, if their horrorstruck faces were anything to go on, at least. "piece of actual garbage I've ever come across. How fucking dare you say that to him?", Zhangjing continued, anger clearly making him irrational. No, scratch that. Literally insane, rather.

 

Yanjun's breathing caught his throat when Shuijiao looked up. He looked angier than he'd ever seen him. He harshly grabbed Zhangjing by the arm and had him slammed against the lockers in a millisecond. Yanjun was with them before he could stop himself, crowding into Shuijiao space. Xukun was on the other side. The scale of the bully's anger was clear when he didn't even react to them, red eyes instead fixed on Zhangjing’s scowling face.

 

"How dare you lay a ringer on me, werewolf. You think you're any better than humans? Don't fucking make me laugh. You're literally just the same as them, just a tiny bit stronger and able to change into a dog once in a month. Oh wait, never mind. That's not even all of you, is it? Only the best of the best. The alphas, right?", he growled, face uncomfortable close to Zhangjing's. Yanjun was aching to grab it and slam it into the ground.

 

"And I'm willing to bet my right fang that you're not the best of the best. Look at you, you're trying to get out of my grip and you can’t even do that. You're probably just an omega. Those things are even worse than humans if you ask me", he snarled.

"No one asked you", Zhangjing snapped loudly.

 

Yanjun winced and wished he could cover his mouth. Shuijiao eyes slit into dangerous slits. "You really have no idea who I am and who you're messing around with, do you?”

 

"Oh, I think I do. You're just a bully that hasn’t been expelled yet because your daddy happens to be friend with a corrupt principal, that's all you are. Without that you’re nothing, everyone hates you and-", Zhangjing was cut off when Shuijiao’s hand closed around his throat.

 

"I could rip your throat out right now and suck you dry in a minute. Is that nothing?", he hissed, sounding so close to animalistic that even Yanjun shuddered. When Zhangjing let out a strangled gasp something in Yanjun snapped. He abruptly used his grip on the fucker’s arm to throw him backwards. Given the fact that he slammed into the lockers with a thundering clack that left a big dent in them he guessed he and Xukun'd snapped at the same time. Team work, huh. It was at that moment that people started scrambling. Clearly afraid to be associated with the ones that had dared lay a finger on Shuijiao.

 

Before he could step over to Shuijiao, hands grabbed his jacket. Zhangjing was looking at him with pupils so blown in his panic that his eyes appeared completely black. "Don't. You'll get in trouble."

 

Despite his anger Yanjun knew he was right. That didn’t stop him from laughing in his face, though. "Now that is the most hypocritical thing I’ve heard in a while, You Zhangjing."

 

Xukun was kneeling by Shuijiao and whispering something so quiet in his ear that even Yanjun couldn’t hear it. The bully scrambled up and gave them the most hateful look he'd ever received. "This isn’t fucking over", he snapped before limping out of the hallway, shouldering Xiao Gui on his way. Xiao Gui grimaced and glared at him. After that it was just them and the Zhu-kid.

 

Zhangjing let go of his jacket and put a trembling hand on the human’s shoulder. "Are you okay?"

 

"I'm okay", he lied, his heart was still beating way too quickly.

 

"What's your name?", Zhangjing asked, voice as gentle as he could.

 

"I'm Zhu Zhengting. I'm uh, really sorry that this all happened because of me. I never meant for this, honestly.", he said quietly, putting ahand on the already forming bruise on his arm.

"Is your arm okay?", Xukun asked, his voice still tight with anger, but clearly already calming down. Yanjun didn’t think he would be able to calm down in another four hours. This was so fucking fucked. They're really gone and done it now.

 

"Uh, I'm not sure. The adrenaline rush is kind of still making me woozy", Zhengting admitted with a small smile, though his lip was wobbling a bit. Zhangjing sighed sadly.

 

"You should-"

 

"Zhengting?", another voice interrupted them. They all looked around to see a tall vampire run towards them, worry etched in his features. He was next to Zhengting in an instance, inspecting him closely. When his eyes fell on Zhengting’s arm he choked.

"What the hell happened? Who did this?", he asked, already starting to glare at Yanjun and his friends.

 

"It was Shuijiao, Cheng", Zhengting said, some of the tension has left his voice at his friend's appearance. He heartrate was also calming down. The vampire's worry change into anger for a split second, before he looked back at Zhengting.

"Are you okay?", he asked gently, hand hovering over it, as if unsure if he was allowed to touch. It reminded Yanjun strangely of Xukun and Xiao Gui.

 

"It hurts a bit", Zhengting admitted then, the adrenaline was probably seeping out of his body as they spoke.

 

"You should take him to the nurse", Yanjun said, his voice coming out rougher than he intended to. Anger was still coursing through his veins, after all. Making him want to lash out at anything and everyone.

 

 

The vampire nodded and put a hand on the small of Zhengting’s back as he led him away. "I promise I'm not gonna let him get away with it this time. I'm gonna contact my sister and fix this, I swear it."

 

Zhengting smiled gently. "Thanks, Chengcheng."

 

Then there was just them. Yanjun could practically feel the tension radiating off of everyone.

 

"Let's go, Kun", Xiao Gui said quietly, Yanjun looked up to see Xukun glaring daggers at Zhangjing. Xukun nodded stiffly before looking at Yanjun. "Talk some sense into him, Yanjun. Because I swear to god, it won’t be pretty if I do it."

 

Yanjun nodded and motioned for Zhangjing to follow him, the werewolf reluctantly did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was 100 percent intending to not have angst in this one, but y'know... I guess not.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after abt a year, i present to you: the last chapter.

They made their way over to a supply closet. Immediately Zhangjing’s scent filled it, but Yanjun forced himself to ignore it and focus on the task at hand as he stared Zhangjing down, trying to process what had just happened.

 

It was quiet for a while, before the werewolf awkwardly went with a hand through his hair. "I know you're angry-"

 

Yanjun let out a sharp laugh. "Really? I'm surprised you noticed, since you’ve been acting like a complete lunatic the past couple of minutes."

 

Zhangjing sighed. "Look-"

 

"No, Zhangjing! Don't fucking 'look' me. What you did was the dumbest thing I've ever seen anyone do in my entire life. What the hell were you thinking?", he snarled. "Did you literally forget everything I told you about him? Did you forget that he's capable of murder when you drive him far enough?"

 

"I didn't, but-", Zhangjing attempted, but Yanjun was so pissed he barely even heard him.

 

"Clearly you did, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone up to him and slapped him across the face. And then continued to actively taunt him. He was 'this' close to snapping, Zhangjing. 'This' close", he finally looked into Zhangjing’s eyes and accentuated the 'this' with his fingers. Zhangjing looked back with a poker face.

"Can I-?"

 

"No! If we hadn’t been there he would've snapped, Zhangjing. And now we're all fucked. We're all gonna be expelled. Do you realize that? Our families are gonna kill us, if Shuijiao doesn't hire any assassins first that is", he said, borderline hysterical. A small part of him knew it wasn’t fair to blame Zhangjing for all of that, but anger was still closing up his throat and Zhangjing's scent was making him feel lightheaded.

 

Zhangjing attempted to put a calming hand on his arm, but Yanjun quickly stepped out of range. He couldn’t be touched right now. Especially not by Zhangjing. "Don't."

A hurt look passed over his face, before he carefully covered it up.

"I never asked you to help me, Yanjun!", Zhangjing said sternly. Yanjun opened his mouth, but Zhangjing put up a hand. "No, I heard you out. Now you’re gonna hear me out."

 

"I know I was reckless, okay? But that kid was basically being tortured, Yanjun. Psychologically and physically. And I could not just keep watching. Not when I’m perfectly capable of stepping in to stop it from happening", Zhangjing said softly.

 

"And so yeah, I exploded and I did some things that I probably shouldn't have done. But I did all of that, because I figured, if someone had to do it… It should be me instead of you or Xukun or even Linkai. I still have a clean slate and if I get expelled, then honestly, who cares? There's tons of more schools here and my parents have been wanting to move ever since we got here anyway. Closer to my mom's job", Zhangjing said. "Besides, they would understand. If they heard what happened, they'd take my side."

 

Yanjun listened to him and felt himself practically deflating. "I never ever wanted to get you two in trouble as well, Yanjun. You have to believe me. If I could take it all back, I would."

 

Yanjun heard nothing but sincerity in his voice. He was quiet for a while as he let go off the last of his anger and was only left with shame for lashing out so harshly

 

"Please don't hate me", Zhangjing said quietly and Goddamnit, Zhangjing was gonna be the death of him. He abruptly closed the distance between them and pulled Zhangjing into a hug.

Zhangjing stiffened for a second or two before relaxing into the embrace. He always had been a cuddly person and Yanjun didn't often give in. "I'm sorry I ruined everything. I do stupid stuff when I get angry", The smaller boy said thickly and Yanjun felt his own throat start to constrict.

 

"Don’t apologize. It was like you said. You didn’t force me to drag that fucked up son of a bitch off you", he said quietly. "You didn’t force me to have so little faith in my parents either and neither did you force me to stand by and do nothing for hears whilst that little asshole tormented people."

 

"Yanjun…”, Zhangjing said worriedly and Yanjun’s breathing hitched as tears began to roll over his face.

 

"I've been such a coward", he sobbed and Zhangjing quickly returned the hug, holding him tight. Yanjun leaned down a bit to bury his face in his neck. The one time he was able to do it and he couldn’t even enjoy it.

 

"No no, don’t think like that, Yanjun. You didn’t want to disappoint your parents or ruin your future. Like everyone in this school. You had no choice.", Zhangjing said, still sounding choked up as he rubbed soothing circled onto Yanjun's back.

 

"I always had a choice", Yanjun said miserably, recalling all the times he’d walked away.

 

"No, it was the system", Zhangjing said stubbornly. How he was still trying to defend Yanjun's actions was beyond him, sing how Yanjun had been yelling at him just five minutes ago.

 

"I'm sorry for yelling", he apologized. "You didn’t deserve that."

 

Zhangjing let put a non-comitial sound and continued his comforting gesture. After a while Yanjun had calmed down enough to stop crying. He wondered what people would think if they accidentally walked in on them. A vampire being comforted by a werewolf. A miracle.

 

 

"I'm so stupid", he sighed. Zhangjing immediately shook his head.

"Stop bringing yourself down like that, Yanjun. Seriously. You are a good person. One of the best I've ever met", he said and Yanjun leaned away to look at him. Zhangjing was looking at him with nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

 

"Thanks", he said, before s small grin appeared on his face.

 

"Just good? Aren’t I also the most handsome person you've ever met?", he asked. Zhangjing didn’t roll his eyes like he usually would, instead his gaze softened and he nodded as he gently wipde some tears off his fac. "The handsomest", he smiled, looking at Yanjun of all people as if he was the most wonderful person he'd ever laid his eyes upon.

 

Yanjun didn't even think twice about leaning down and pressing a kiss against his lips. Zhangjing's heartbeat, that had been steady throughout the entire conversation suddenly shot through the roof and his hands fell away from Yanjun's face.

Yanjun leaned away again to find him looking up at him with big eyes.

 

"I'm not sure if your silent is a good one or a bad one", Yanjun admitted quietly. A brilliant grin appeared on Zhangjing's face and warmth washed over Yanjun when the werewolf’s hands returned to his face, this time to cup it.

 

"Oh. It's definitely a good one", he giggled and when they kissed again Yanjun felt happier than he had in a while.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Yanjun stared at Zhengting and Chengcheng, not daring to believe his ears. Besides him his friends all had similar expressions upon their faces.

 

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?", Linkai asked.

 

"It's like I said, my sister’s a pretty big deal. She talked to the principal. Shuijiao is officially expelled and judging by his father's reaction he's not gonna be back anytime soon", Chengcheng grinned. "You three are off the hook!"

Yanjun felt like crying from relief. He wasn't gonna be expelled.

 

"Oh , thank god", Zhangjing moaned as he buried his face in Yanjun's shoulder. Yanjun grinned and pet his hair.

Despite the new step in their relationship things had been tense. Xukun had barely even looked at Zhangjing before the weekend began and even the ever so chill Linkai had been tense around him.

"He's not gonna be bothering anyone anymore", Zhengting said happily. Yanjun turned to Chengcheng.

"Thank you so much. I owe you my life", he told the other vampire. Immediately his friends also showed their gratitude.

 

Chengcheng laughed. "Don't thank me, thank my sister. She's the one that did all the work."

 

After some more stammered thanks the two left to join their own friends. ("We just thought it was fair to let you guys know.")

Right after they left Xukun abruptly grabbed Zhangjing and pulled him into a hard embrace. The werewolf yelped in surprise. Yanjun looked on in amusement. At long last, the infamous (wanna be) bad boy Xukun trying to show affection. He and Linkai exchanged an amused glance.

 

"I'm sorry for being such an asshole", Xukun said gruffly and Zhangjing smiled, returning the gesture.

"It's okay."

 

"It's really not. You were just doing the right thing and I-"

 

Yanjun decided to let them have their conversation and turned towards Linkai, who was watching the exchange unfold with a soft smile on his face. As soon as he noticed Yanjun looking he opted for a more neutral expression. Fucking tsundere, honestly.

 

"You're probably happier about this than all of us combined, huh?", he asked.

 

"About that I'm not sure, but yeah, I'm really happy that piece of shit is gone", Linkai said with a small smile.

 

"You think it'll help with-y'know", Yanjun said awkwardly.

 

The human boy sighed and looked at his hands. "I'm not sure. I don't think it'll ever completely go away, but I'm 100 percent certain it's a good step in the healing process. My therapist always told me seeing the source of it all could be good for some people, but that wasn't the case for me. I don't know. It always made me feel like a coward."

 

This was the first time Linkai and him were talking about his feeling. Usually it was Xukun who did it, because he was simply better at it, which said a whole lot about Yanjun's emotional abilities. He'd practiced this in head multiple times, though. He wasn’t gonna screw this up.

 

He put a hand on his arm, feeling the warmth and blood flow under his finger. It was still regular.

 

"Hey, don’t even start with that, man. You're incredibly brave, really. I can't imagine what it must’ve been like to look at the face of the vampire who did that to you every day. A lesser person would've dropped out. Or worse. You didn't and I think that says a lot about you", Yanjun said quietly. Linkai bit his lip and looked at him.

 

"You think so?", he asked in a rare moment of vulnerability.

 

"I know so", Yanjun nodded, affection coursing through him when the other boyz smiled thankfully at him.

 

"I know I never said it, but thank you for back then. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I might not have been here today", Linkai mumbled. Yanjun squeezed his arm. He understood. The first couple of weeks after the attack the human had barely spoken a word, instead he'd sat in his hospital bed, looking incredibly small and vulnerable with marks marring his face and neck.

 

It had killed Yanjun and Xukun, who'd done their damned hardest to make him crawl out of his shell again. It hadn’t been easy, especially since Yanjun had at first flinched away each time one of them all but reached out to him. His parents told them he'd requested for only humans doctors and nurses. After hearing that Xukun had cried, it was the first time Yanjun had seen him cry and he'd awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do, before finally giving in and hugging his friend. Their first and last hug.

 

Then one day it'd seemed like Linkai was back to normal, just bounced back as if nothing had happened at all, talking animatedly and even going as far as to good-naturedly slap their backs. A part of Yanjun had found it weird, but he'd gone with it. Not even caring if it had just been a strange coping mechanism.

 

"God, I'm really not that god at this mushy shit, let's stop talking about this", Linkai said, abruptly pulling Yanjun out of his thoughts. Yanjun grinned.

"What are you talking about? Mushy shit? This is the manliest conversation I've ever had."

 

Linkai rolled his eyes with a small smile, before putting an arm around Xukun, effectively interrupting his conversation with Zhangjing.

 

"Now you can finally stop angsting as well", he said good-naturedly.

 

"Can't a man be worry when his boyfriend is in constant mortal danger", Xukun said and Linkai laughed before pressing a kiss onto his cheek. Yanjun's eyes practically bulged out of his head. He looked at Zhangjing, but he was watching it all go down with a fond expression on his face, as though he'd known all along that his best friends, Yanjun's best friend of the past three years, were boyfriends.

 

"Did you all meet up this weekend without me or something?", he blurted out. They all turned to him with a confuse expression on their faces.

 

"What?", Xukun asked finally. "No, why?"

 

"I don’t know, maybe because you two are suddenly boyfriends?", Yanjun all but yelled.

 

They all laughed. As if this was all some sort of big joke. "Yeah haha, Yanjun."

 

Yanjun simply stared at them. Slowly the smiles dropped off their faces. "You're not kidding are you?", Linkai stated finally.

 

"What? No! When the hell did this happen?", Yanjun said.

"Xukun and I have been dating for three years, Yanjun", the human said seriously. Yanjun waited for the punchline, for it al to be some elaborate very bad joke. But it didn't come, instead he saw their expression all morph into a horrified one, when it finally occurred to them that Yanjun really hadn’t known.

"And it never occurred to you that I might want to know?”, Yanjun said, almost hysterical.

 

"Oh my god, babe", Zhangjing moaned, burying his face in Yanjun's shoulder and bursting into loud laughter.

“It never occurred to me that you were so dumb you didn’t even realize we were dating?”, Xukun said.

 

“How the hell was I supposed to know? You guys never made out in front of me? Nor did you ever call each other that until like right now.”, he all but yelled, genuinely feeling as though a part of his life was a lie.

 

“How did you know? Did they tell you?”, he asked the still giggling werewolf hiding his face in his neck.

 

“No, I just thought it was pretty obvious. Seeing how Linkai usually goes with Xukun after school and they like…never invite us. Also, when Linkai’s upset he immediately goes to Xukun, who always welcomes him with open arms. Oh…and the way they look at each other was also pretty self-explanatory”, Zhangjing said, as if it was self-explanatory.

 

“I thought that was how all best friends looked at each other”, Yanjun muttered.

 

“Yanjun, you can’t seriously mean this.”, Xukun moaned, burying his face in his hands. Linkai looked more done than he ever had. “How the hell someone like you even managed to get a boyfriend is still beyond me.”

 

 

Yanjun was about to defend himself when Zhangjing spoke. “Hey, the only one who gets to offend my boyfriend is me.”

 

 

“Wow”, Linkai said and despite his world and all he knew just having come crumbling down Yanjun couldn’t help but feel giddiness course through him.

“That’s right. From now on the only one who gets to call me stupid is the werewolf over here. Boyfriend privilege.”, he said before putting an arm over his shoulder.

 

 

And when the werewolf gave him a big smile Yanjun couldn’t help but think that he was the privileged one for having Zhangjing like him, despite their differences. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, this was a bumpy ride from start to finish. i'm glad i got around to finishing this, tho. apparently i had finished this entirely except for the last line, so that's why it may feel a little weird ://
> 
> i'm not...the proudest of this fic looking back on it, but i still hope you guys enjoyed it nontheless!! 
> 
> (also did anyone see linkai and xukun coming?? dude, i thought i was so slick back then lmao)
> 
> -
> 
> i've deleted the tumblr i linked in this fic, since i'm kind of out of the fandom, so [ here's](http://chimchimerie.tumblr.com) the one i'm using rn.

**Author's Note:**

> eyy, zhangjun, that one ship everyone ships at least a lil. idk man, i've been wanting to write something with this premise for some time and they just seemed perfect for it. 
> 
> my [tumblr](http://zhngtae.tumblr.com)


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